SUMMARY the Christiania Bank Group's Net Profit for the First Nine Months of 2001 Amounted to NOK 2117 Million
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CHRISTIANIA BANK 3rd QUARTER 2001 SUMMARY The Christiania Bank Group’s net profit for the first nine months of 2001 amounted to NOK 2,117 million (NOK 1,700 million), equivalent to NOK 3.84 per share (NOK 3.08 per share). Net profit for the third quarter of 2001 amounted to NOK 274 million (NOK 653 million), equivalent to NOK 0.50 per share (NOK 1.18 per share). Operating profit before loan losses and profit on long-term securities for the first nine months totalled NOK 2,293 million (NOK 2,201 million), and the equivalent figure for the third quarter alone was NOK 625 million (NOK 756 million). Total income is somewhat lower than expected due to losses on stock trading and reduced income from commissions and fees from securities trading, while total operating costs were largely in line with expectations. Loan losses and provisions for the first nine months amounted to NOK 384 million (write-back of NOK 103 million), of which the third quarter accounted for NOK 222 million (write-back of NOK 146 million). The profit reported for the first nine months corresponds to a return on the Group’s equity of 16.1 per cent (14.3 per cent) on an annualised basis. Net loans to customers increased by NOK 2.5 billion in the third quarter, equivalent to 1.7 percent. Growth for the year to date stands at NOK 4.4 billion or 2.5%. After adjusting for the sale of Christiania Bank's London branch, net loans to customers increased by approximately NOK 10.3 billion in the first nine months. Total assets amounted to NOK 245 billion at the end of the third quarter. The capital ratio at the end of the quarter was 10.6 per cent, while the core capital ratio was 7.5 per cent. These calculations include 50% of net pre-tax profit for the first six months. NORDEA Christiania Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordea Companies Finland Plc from the end of 2000. The parent company of the entire group is Nordea AB. Nordea is the leading financial group in the Nordic countries, with a major market position in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway as well as activities in the Baltic states and Poland. The shares of Christiania Bank are no longer listed on the stock exchange following the acquisition of the bank by Nordea. Nordea AB is listed on the stock exchanges in Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Further information about the company can be found at www.nordea.com. A new Board of Directors of Christiania Bank was elected in February 2001. As part of the process of restructuring the Nordea group, Christiania Bank's London branch was sold during the course of the second quarter to the London branch of Merita Bank. The sale took place at market value, which was broadly similar to book value at the time of sale. On 11 October 2001, The Norwegian Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission approved the sale of the shares in Norske Liv AS and K-Fondsforsikring AS to Vesta Liv Holding AS. The selling price is NOK 511 million resulting in an accounting gain of approximately NOK 70 million. The effect of the sale is not taken into the accounts as of 30 September 2001. The four banks in the Nordea Group will change names in December 2001. Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse ASA will be changed to Nordea Bank Norge ASA. STATEMENT OF INCOME Net Interest Income Net interest income in the third quarter was NOK 1,185 million (NOK 1,137 million), equivalent to 2.01 per cent (1.93 per cent) of average total assets on an annualised basis. The difference between the average interest rates on deposits and lending amounted to 2.54 percentage points in the third quarter. This is somewhat lower than in the second quarter, and also lower than the average reported for 2000, 2.60 and 2.64 percentage points respectively. 1 CHRISTIANIA BANK 3rd QUARTER 2001 Net Change in Value and Profit (Loss) on Securities Net change in value and profit (loss) on securities in the third quarter totalled NOK -99 million (NOK 75 million), made up of NOK -124 million (NOK 41 million) on shares and NOK 25 million (NOK 34 million) on certificates and bonds. There were no unrealised capital gains associated with the Group's banking portfolio of shares (excluding non- listed shares) as at 30 September 2001. Net profit from foreign exchange and financial derivatives amounted to NOK 184 million (NOK 126 million) in the third quarter. The Bank's customer trading made a particularly strong contribution to this good result. Other Operating Income and Operating Expenses Other operating income in the third quarter of this year was approximately NOK 75 million lower than in the corresponding period last year. The main reduction was seen in commissions and fees from securities trading and in income from the insurance business. Operating expenses in the third quarter were NOK 986 million (NOK 998 million). Third quarter operating expenses were equivalent to 1.68 per cent (1.69 per cent) of average total assets on an annualised basis. The ratio of costs to income, excluding net change in value and profit (loss) on securities, was 57.6 per cent (57.5 per cent) for the first nine months in 2001 and 57.7 per cent (59.4 per cent) in the third quarter of 2001. Provision for Losses on Loans and Guarantees The income statement shows a provision for losses on loans and guarantees for the third quarter of NOK 222 million (write-back NOK 146 million). Net losses and specific loan loss provisions for the third quarter are made up of NOK -12 million (NOK -16 million) in the retail market, NOK 23 million (NOK 6 million) on small and medium-sized businesses, NOK 136 million (NOK -187 million) on major Norwegian business clients, and NOK 25 million (NOK 51 million) in branches abroad in addition to a provision for general loan losses of NOK 50 million (NOK 0 million). The Group’s portfolio of non-performing and doubtful commitments increased by NOK 0.1 billion in the third quarter to NOK 3.2 billion in gross terms. Net non-performing and doubtful commitments, representing the book value of these commitments, amounted to NOK 2.1 billion as at 30 September 2001, which is the same level as previous quarter. Taxes The Group has expensed NOK 129 million in respect of taxes in the third quarter. The calculation of taxation for the year to date has taken into account the judgement handed down by the Norwegian Supreme Court on 27 June 2001 in respect of the treatment for tax purposes of the preference capital supplied to the Bank in 1991. The Court ruled that the disputed amount of approximately NOK 2.7 billion should be deemed neither to be taxable income nor entail a reduction in the loss carry-forward for tax assessment purposes. The bank has therefore written-back taxes previously calculated and expensed amounting to NOK 750 million in the second quarter. As at 30 September 2001, the Group’s net deferred tax benefit was approximately NOK 1.1 billion. The Group also has some pending disputes concerning tax assessments in previous years. The Borgarting Lagmannsrett (the Court of Appeal) handed down its ruling on 27 April 2001 in the tax case that the Bank had brought against the State concerning the right to claim relief for a loss from sale of subsidiaries within the Group. The Court of Appeal upheld the judgement of the City Court that the losses for which Christiania Bank has claimed relief do not qualify for relief under the Company Tax Act. Christiania Bank has lodged an appeal against this decision. The Appeal Committee of the Supreme Court has ruled that the appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court. BALANCE SHEET At the end of September 2001 the Group’s total assets were NOK 245 billion. This represents an increase of NOK 7.6 billion in the last quarter. Net loans to customers increased by NOK 2.5 billion in the third quarter, while there was an increase over the last 12 months of NOK 5.5 billion. After adjusting for the sale of the London branch, net loans have increased by approximately NOK 11,9 billion over the last 12 months. Deposits from customers at the end of September this year were NOK 103.6 billion, as against NOK 104.6 billion three months previously. Deposits from customers were equivalent to 56 per cent of net lending to customers including loans from Norgeskreditt, as compared 2 CHRISTIANIA BANK 3rd QUARTER 2001 to 57 per cent three months previously. For the Parent Bank customer deposits represented 65 per cent of net lending to customers. CAPITAL RATIO The risk-weighted asset base of the Group was NOK 211.1 billion as at 30 September 2001, which is an increase of NOK 0.9 billion in the last quarter. Under current regulations, the capital ratio is required to be at least 8 per cent at all times. The Group’s total capital amounted to NOK 22,391 million, which represents a capital ratio of 10.6 per cent. The capital ratio for the Parent Bank was 10.7 per cent. The Group’s core capital totalled NOK 15,842 million equivalent to 7.5 per cent. These calculations include 50% of pre-tax profit for the first six months. Had the entire profit for the first nine months been added to the core capital as at 30 September 2001, both the Group’s core capital ratio and its total capital ratio would have been approximately 0.7 percentage points higher.